KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Local adoption agencies say the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will have a huge impact on their services.
Kate Fibert, executive director of Adoption Choices of Missouri, said the expectant mothers she works with don't fit into one category.
"I wish I could say it was all college students who got pregnant and wanted to finish their degree, that's not the case," Fibert said. "We have a lot of moms that have experienced a great deal of trauma, we have moms that their pregnancy resulted from an assault, and we have moms that also are not in a good place mentally, emotionally, financially or physically that want to parent at this time."
Fibert said she works with more women of color than white women. She said the women of color often want their child adopted by a family of color they can identify with in race and culture.
"The problem lies in the fact that we don't have a lot of families that are available to our moms of color, that's usually the main roadblock we see," Fibert said.
The agency often has to go outside of Missouri or Kansas to find a family of color to match a mother with.
While it can be challenging, she's been able to do it thus far.
However, she said the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will make it even harder.
Fibert said her agency has been working on spreading information and education about adoption to more African-American families in the last few years, including financial assistance options.
As of last Friday, she said there is now a much greater sense of urgency to get more African-American families who want to adopt.
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